Ofcom is today proposing to strengthen its
guidance on how telecoms companies should protect people in
the UK from international calls that imitate UK mobile
numbers.
One way that criminal gangs prey on victims is by imitating - or
‘spoofing'- phone numbers , and callers that potential victims
might trust, such as UK mobile numbers, so their calls are more
likely to be answered. Fraudsters based abroad often spoof UK
numbers, knowing people are more likely to pick up these calls
than if an unknown international number is displayed.
Ofcom research reveals
that, in February 2025, two in five phone users (42%) said they
received a suspicious call in the last three months. We found
that people are more trusting of calls coming from UK mobile
numbers (+447) than they are of calls from withheld or
international numbers.
A quarter (26%) said they were likely or very likely to pick up a
call from an unrecognised UK mobile number, compared to just one
in ten (9%) who would answer a call showing an international
number with an unrecognised country code.
Strengthening protections
Last year, we strengthened our industry guidance in this area,
telling phone companies to identify and block calls from abroad
that falsely display a UK landline number as the caller ID,
except in a limited number of legitimate use cases.
Currently, there is an exemption from blocking calls from abroad
that display a UK mobile caller ID. This is to allow people who
are roaming abroad to display their number to family and friends
when they call them.
Today, we are proposing that telecoms companies should withhold
the caller ID of calls that appear to come from a UK mobile
roaming abroad unless they can verify its validity. This follows
engagement with industry on how providers could best protect
people from calls spoofing UK mobile numbers without hindering
customers calling home from abroad.
Marina Gibbs, Ofcom's Policy Director for Networks and
Communications, said: “Customers endure a barrage of scam
calls, and when people get caught out, the consequences can be
devastating. It can happen to anyone, with criminal gangs in
other countries trying to exploit people when their guard is
down.
“The work we've collectively already done has led to a
million calls a day being blocked, but there's no silver bullet,
and we're always looking for new ways to shore up our defences in
the fight against fraud. These new measures would provide further
protection for people in the UK.”
Ofcom is inviting responses to today's consultation by 5pm 13
October 2025. We plan to publish our decision in early
2026.
